Finite element modeling (FEM) has become a well known tool used to perform structural analysis, e.g. load and strength analysis, of such things as the various parts of a mobile platform, cellular communication towers, bridge structures, high rise buildings and any other structure, part or compilation of parts fabricated to withstand various loads and forces. A finite element model (FEM) is generally a three-dimensional mathematic representation of a part subdivided into many smaller parts called elements. Various properties, such as mass, inertial forces and center of gravity (CG), and other properties of the part are utilized by the FEM to perform the structural analysis. Typically the part mass is distributed over the subdivided elements and input to a FEM routine or algorithm along with the other part properties, e.g. inertia and CG. The FEM routine then utilizes this data to perform structural analysis of the part.
Typically, distribution of part masses into a FEM routine are created by hand or by problem specific applications developed for each specific project. This process is very time consuming and, as FEM analysis continue to grow in size and complexity, this mass distribution process is becoming impractical. For example, it may be desirable in contemporary FEM analysis to subdivide a part into 20,000 elements or more, therefore, the process of mass distribution over 20,000 elements become very complex and labor and cost intensive. Although some automated, i.e. computerized, mass distribution programs have been implemented to reduce the time to create a mass distribution, they have many limitations. For example, some known mass distribution programs perform the distribution as a batch process, which prevents the individual inspection of each part's results.
Therefore, it is desirable to generate mass distributions for finite element modeling routines in a more accurate and time efficient manner.